Patrick grew up on a sheep farm in East Kent, where the fields and woods were her first art teachers. She spent time working in her father's antique shop in Folkestone, and during school holidays visited the Old Master collections of European galleries. She did not attend art school, but studied architecture at the University of Cambridge.
Portrait painting came first for Patrick, working to commission. She branched into still-lifes and had her first solo show with Sarah Long in 1984. Five shows with Thomas Agnew followed. This will be her fifteenth exhibition. Since 1997, she has shown independently, co-curating her exhibitions with her husband, Michael Perry. They have a carpentry workshop in their home where each painting is framed with devoted craftsmanship and then coloured by Patrick.